10 Apps for Lent

(Note: These are NOT the apps in the video)

Normally I would save this type of post for Tuesday Tech Talk, but since we are already in the second week of Lent, I thought I would post it today. Technology, properly ordered, can be a useful tool that can help you enhance your Lenten season. Here is a video from Catholic@pps highlighting 10 apps that can aid you this Lenten season. (They review each of these apps in greater detail on their site.) Maybe you just haven't been able to find a way to get into the swing of things this Lent. Here is my list of resources from last year.

Here is a listing of the apps as they appear in the video:

• My Year of Faith
• Catholic Sermon
• The Pope App
• Steubenville
• Fighter Verse
• Mea Culpa
• Catholic Meditations for Lent by Thomas Aquinas
• John Paul II (eVotions)
• Lighthouse Catholic Media Bible (Promo Code: 102318)
• Magnificat Lent Companion

Spiritual Toolbox: The Sign of the Cross

[Originally posted 8/5/09, this update contains significant upgrades to the links and has added commentary]

The Sign of the Cross is one of the most basic prayers in the Catholic Church. For many of us, it may have been the very first prayer we learned. The simplicity of the prayer speaks to the perfect simplicity of the Holy Trinity. Proclaiming the name of God is a powerful prayer in itself.

SaintsSQPN describes the prayer this way:

The most important of the sacramentals. It is a symbol of our deliverance from Satan, and an emblem of God‘s mercy as manifested through the crucifixion of Our Saviour. It consists in making a movement with the hands, or with some object, in the form of a cross. 

[T]he words and the action form a summary of the Catholic faith in God and the Redemption. We say “In the name” – expressing the unity of God; we mention the three Persons of the Trinity; the cross itself, made with the hand, manifests our belief in the Incarnation, death, and resurrection of Our Saviour, and shows that we regard Him not only as God but as man – for otherwise He could not die. The use of this sign goes back probably to the days of the Apostles. 

Here are some resources explaining the origin of the Sign of the Cross and why we make this gesture with the prayer.

Catholic Encyclopedia

Early Explanation

Interview with Bert Ghezzi on Catholic Online

Karl Keating (link to audio has expired)

The Sign of the Cross, Bert Ghezzi (the book featured in the picture)

Tuesday Tech Talk:Web Sites for Lent

There are a number of very good, authentic Catholic websites available. Unfortunately, if you are just returning to the Catholic Church (like I was eight years ago) or are a neophyte hungry to learn more, the Internet can be intimidating and even a dangerous place to find resources. We live in crazy times where so-called Catholic websites can be fronts for schismists who believe Vatican II was a heresy to progressives who think there's no contradiction between being Catholic and pro-choice. 

I hope this brief list (it is by no means exhaustive) is a good starting point for you to develop your own tool chest of resources. I would recommend visiting the links and blog lists posted on these sites. You will find that good sound teachers and writers on the faith have a tendency to cite each other.

I picked this list because they tend to be comprehensive and catechetical. Additionally, I think these sites would be appropriate tools for deepening your faith during Lent. You can use them to stock your Spiritual Toolbox with more spiritual tools and knowledge. You might use them to research a saint. Or you might use them to answer a FAQ of the Faith. 

Catholic Answers - one of the most comprehensive collection of Catholic apologetic and catechetical resources. The cite also has links to audio and video archives of their programming. On the low-tech side, they have a number of faith tracts that you can download for free.

Catholic Exchange - this site is structured like a news magazine containing topics that range from art to technology. The site contains a number of great columns and resources. It even posts recipes. For example, they recently posted a recipe for beer-battered fish fry.

EWTN - if you have not discovered EWTN, you need to just start watching the programming. Fortunately, if your cable or satellite provide does not carry Mother Angelica's network, you can follow most of the programming online. Additionally, the site has a huge library of documents and audio programming.

New Advent - in addition to having the complete copy of the 1917 Catholic Encyclopedia, this site includes the complete Summa, writings from the Church fathers, the Bible and a library of other Church documents. The site also captures a number of popular Catholic blogs.

USCCB - the shepherds of the US Catholic Church have organized a robust website which includes resources ranging from the Bible to liturgical norms. The site contains a complete copy of the New American Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Remember they also have great video reflections on the daily readings.

Lenten Resources

Cross, Michael O'Brien

Today we begin the forty days of Lent. This should be a time of conversion in which we recall or prepare for Baptism and practice penance. The Second Vatican Council said as much in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy:

The season of Lent has a twofold character: primarily by recalling or preparing for baptism and by penance, it disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear the word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the paschal mystery. This twofold character is to be brought into greater prominence both in the liturgy and by liturgical catechesis. (SC, 109)

I have provided two comprehensive sites to aid in enriching your Lenten experience. Additionally, I have included a few links for the Three Pillars of Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.

Comprehensive Resources and Links

• Aggie Catholics Lenten Mega-Post
• Catholic Culture Lent Workshop

Prayer

• Divine Mercy Chaplet
• Eucharistic Adoration
• Evening Examination of Conscience
• Liturgy of the Hours
• Mary's Way of the Cross
• Morning Offering
• Rosary
• The Way of the Cross

Fasting

• 101 Practical Fasting Ideas
• Church Teaching on Fasting and Abstinence
• E5 Men

Almsgiving

• Catholic Dictionary's Definition
• Catholic Encyclopedia's Explanation
• Fatherhood and Almsgiving
• Tithing: An Old Law or Today's Standard for Giving
• Tithing and Almsgiving